BELLEVILLE – Edwardsvlle football coach Matt Martin preaches to his team about the need to win the turnover battle every week.
The Tigers certainly did that Friday night.
Edwardsville took advantage of two fumbled kickoff return attempts by Belleville West and scored twice off the turnovers, both times on touchdown runs by Kendall Abdur-Rahman – two of five TDs he scored himself on the night – as the Tigers ran off with a 45-14 win over the Maroons Friday night at West’s newly renamed Bob Goalby Field.
Goalby, a BTHS graduate in the days prior to the West-East split in 1966 who went on to make a name for himself in golf, winning the 1968 Masters title, was on hand for a pre-game ceremony renaming the field in his honor.
Edwardsville ran their record to 5-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Southwestern Conference with the win, becoming eligible for the IHSA football playoffs; a win at home next week over Collinsville will assure Edwardsville of a playoff spot with a sixth win on the year. The Maroons, on the other hand, fell to 5-3 overall, 4-2 in the league.
“I didn’t expect this kind of a victory,” Martin said after the game. “I’m proud of our kids; I thought it was a huge game for us and I talked about it to my team,” recalling his first full season as EHS’ coach when the Tigers entered a game at 2-3 and how they went on to win the game against West.
“I’m really happy for this group of boys and happy for all the coaches in this program.”
The two early turnovers certainly set a theme for the game. “They’re obviously a better team than that,” Martin said. “We won the turnover battle and I talked about it before; when we win that turnover battle, it just sets us up for success.”
Abdur-Rahman had a big night running for the Tigers; he picked up 149 yards on 16 attempts in addition to his five-touchdown performance; Justin Johnson, who has stepped in for the Tigers after injuries to Dionte Rodgers and Antonio Thigpen Jr., made a big contribution as well with 22 runs for 136 yards on the night.
Not only did the Tiger offensive line open up holes for Abdur-Rahman and Johnson, Martin gave credit to the EHS receiving corps. “Our receivers – and I have to say this and we tell it all the time – our line takes care of the 5- to 7-yard runs,” Martin said “If our receivers are doing their job – particularly with Kendall – we have a chance to have huge runs and score.”
Abdur-Rahman scored on runs of 39, two, three, seven and seven yards while also connecting with Lavontas Hairston for a five-yard touchdown strike right before the end of the first half; Johnson, a freshman, had runs that helped the Tigers get in close for scores throughout the night. “He’s not an average freshman, is he?,” Martin said. “He’s pretty special and I talk about his work ethic and his maturity for a freshman; he’s pretty special. I’ve just been pleased with his efforts and his execution on the field.”
The pairings and seedings for the 44th IHSA Football Championship will be released at 8 p.m. Oct. 21.
